Editor's Notes

The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

The last few years -- no, make that the last few decades -- have been
trying times for even the most dedicated James Bond fans. Ever since the vintage
days of Sean Connery, the laments have been the same. Why can't they make a great
Bond film like they used to? Why do they keep hiring bland, forgettable actors
to play 007? What happened to all the danger, excitement and seriousness of
the early years? And why can't they at least get someone to compose a decent Bond theme
song?

'Casino Royale' is the first sincere effort on behalf of the series'
filmmakers to address those grievances. It is as if after decades of fan griping,
bad reviews and pop culture tongue-lashings, the Bond producers finally realized
that, despite continued blockbuster grosses, their beloved franchise has long
since become a punch line. As much as I've enjoyed various post-Connery entries,
from the silly if spirited Roger Moore years to the better of the far-too-outlandish
Pierce Brosnan era, let's face it -- when was the last time 007 seemed like
anything but a dated anachronism?

By going back to basics -- and back to the beginning -- the Bond producers
have finally given the character the reboot he so desperately deserved. Dusting
off 'Casino Royale,' the first Ian Fleming Bond novel, it's year zero for 007.
He's lean, mean, hungry, fresh with his license to kill and, at times, even
inept. He is, as "M" (Judi Dench) describes him, a "blunt instrument."
But it is the best thing to happen to the character since he first turned to
the camera and uttered those immortal words, "Bond... James Bond."
At last, the character is relevant again, and put in a story that places him
in genuine jeopardy, hits strong emotional notes, and sets the stage for a grand
new era for the franchise.

The story is complex, but vintage Bond. Newly granted 007 status, James' first
assignment is to spy on a terrorist and bomb maker, Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan).
After the mission goes bad, he's led to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), banker
to the world's top terrorist organizations. Secret Service intelligence reveals
that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game at the
"Le Casino Royale." Bond must go undercover and sabotage the stakes,
knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization. But Bond
will get caught up in his own game, when he meets the seductive Vesper Lynd
(Eva Green). Stealing his smarts as well as his heart, she will become the only
woman ever to make him distrust his alliances with his government and his job.
The game soon plays itself out in unexpected ways, and Bond learns that in the spy
business -- as in poker -- you never know who you can trust.

Why 'Casino Royale' works where so many of the previous Bond films failed is
because it at last restores a sense of urgency and consequence to the proceedings.
Hardly the cool and unflappable comedian of the Moore years, or even the ruggedly
calm, charming hedonist perfected by Connery, this Bond is fallible, clumsy
and even blockheaded. He has no gadgets to rely on, no over-the-top villain
to foil, and he yet has found a Bond girl he loves enough that he's willing to jeopardize his entire life. Bond hasn't been this vulnerable since the last great film in the franchise, 1969's vastly underrated 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service.' If we know from
frame one of the film that Bond and Vesper are never going to be together, we
still are at last given a fresh understanding of how such a rogue character
could have been led to marry, albeit with such tragic results, as he did in
'Service.' Creating this kind of throughline for the character is one of the
many brave, bravura strokes in 'Casino Royale,' and the move to humanize and
add complexity to Bond is a much-needed relief.

'Casino Royale,' of course, doesn't skimp on the action. Dropping the ridiculous,
CGI-laden extravagances of the Brosnan entries (which reached their nadir when
Bond went para-surfing off of a digital cliff in 2002's 'Die Another Day'), 'Royale' is rugged and rough. The action sequences here are simply incredible. The early Madagascar foot-race sequence is a tour de force of choreography, movement, camera placement and pacing -- it's simply fantastic. The sequence where Bond attempts to sabotage a airport bomber is also a stand-out. Even the casino sequences are oddly exciting, because we know the stakes, and they're high -- I never would have thought two people playing poker could be so riveting.

You may have noticed that I've gotten to the end of this review without speaking
those two words: Daniel Craig. It's a testament to 'Casino Royale' that it probably
would have been the finest Bond film in eons, on every level -- writing, direction,
action, sexiness -- regardless of the Bond actor who played him. But Craig defied
all the skeptics and proved a surprisingly vociferous group of online detractors
absolutely wrong. He is, for my money, the only actor since Connery to completely
own the role. He mixes sexiness, swagger, irony and even a sprinkling of brute
vulgarity to create an interpretation that transcends the cliches. Though perhaps
Green (as Bong girl Lynd) is a bit too young for Craig, we never once doubt that Bond is in love with her. It's the heart of the story, and at last, Craig allows us to see the heart of Bond. Together with the talent and dedication put into 'Royale,' it finally restores the lost luster to a once mighty, grand franchise. They've been saying it at the end of every 007 outing for years now... "James Bond Will Return." In 'Casino Royale,' he finally has.

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

'Casino Royale' first hit Blu-ray in early 2007, as one of the more anticipated titles in the format's early life. At the time of my original review, I gave it quite good marks, but not superlative ones -- and received tons of flack from fans who seemed unable to accept anything less than a five-star rating. Now, over a year later, Sony is re-issuing 'Casino Royale' in this new two-disc Blu-ray edition, and has again repurposed the same 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode. My feelings remain the same -- it's a very good if not reference-quality presentation. (Sorry!)

After the opening teaser, which is black & white and purposely grainy,
the credits take off with the typically bombastic
Bond theme song, and it looks fantastic. Colors are rich, vivid and stable.
Detail is great. And the sense of depth and three-dimensionality -- even though
we're talking animation here -- is wonderful. Unfortunately, after that, I couldn't help but feel a sense of deflation. My overall opinion of the bulk of the transfer is that it still looks somewhat digital and artificial. The level of detail only sometimes reaches the heights of the best Blu-ray titles I've enjoyed over the past couple of years. Certainly, the image has pop but I wasn't consistently blown away.

The source is indeed as pristine as a new penny, and often sparkles. Blacks
are excellent, and colors vibrant. Contrast, however, consistently runs hot, enough
so that the image looks routinely blown-out and unrealistic. Colors sometimes veer towards oversaturation. Fleshtones just don't look natural, and aside
from extreme close-ups, I often could not detect realistic skin textures --
everyone looks painted orange. Dark scenes are actually better as contrast
isn't so distracting, and the film's use of cooler blues pays off with a more
film-like, pleasing appearance. The actual card-playing centerpiece of the middle
of the film is also quite nice, and a respite from the earlier, more sun-drenched
exteriors, such as the Madagascar chase sequence that, again. looked too hot. Detail
can be fairly strong, though the flushed hues and bright whites flatten
out the image and it doesn't have absolute top-notch depth.

Without a doubt, 'Casino Royale' is always watchable and has moments of true grandeur.
But is it a five-star transfer? A year on, I still have to say no.

The Audio: Rating the Sound

While I may have qualms about this disc's video transfer, it is far harder to
find fault with the audio. Sony has ditched the uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround track of the original "Casino Royale' Blu-ray and replaced it with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround option (48kHz/24-bit). The switcheroo doesn't result in any appreciable drop-off in quality, though after a series of very anal comparisons, I can say I would probably give the slightest of edges to the PCM -- but only the slightest.

First, the good stuff. This is a James Bond film, so we expect nothing less than gangbusters sound
design, and sure enough we get it. The filmmaking team behind the franchise know that their bread and butter is the kind of action that sets trends, and there are some back-to-basics, non-CGI sequences here that are truly death-defying. The sonic highlights in 'Casino Royale' are by far the early Madagascar foot chase, the airport interception, and the climactic collapse of the building in Venice. Each provides first-rate demo material. Dynamic range is wide and powerful. Deep bass rumbles (just listen to that airplane take off -- it's a stunner). And the attention to fine detail to discrete effects is flawless. Imaging between channels excels and is near-transparent, with a very effective wall of sound created during the most intense action moments. When the bullets fly, 'Casino Royale' doesn't disappoint.

The film's less bombastic moments also hold up. 'Casino Royale' is a long film, and quite heavy on the dialogue. I like the use of subtle ambiance at times -- listen for the soft lull of crickets in the rears as Bond seduces Solange early on -- and the typically lush Bond score can also nicely swell up when needed. Dialogue is nicely balanced, with only Daniel Craig's most mumbled lines needing any assist in volume matching. I suppose my only nitpick is a desire for a little more creativity in the sound design (I had hoped for something cooler in terms of sound effects on the opening, famous "gun barrel" shot), but this is a minor quibble.

As far as comparing the PCM and TrueHD tracks, I whipped out my old 'Casino Royale' Blu-ray, and picked three scenes (the opening credit sequence with the Chris Cornell title tune, the foot chase and the airport interception), and did some back-to-back comparisons. After flipping between the two Blu-rays about ten times, I would give a very slight thumbs up to the PCM in terms of low bass. The airport sequence in particular felt ever-so-slightly more robust in the bottom on the PCM than the TrueHD. I also thought the title song sounded somewhat wider in the mid-range on the PCM, at least when I had the sound blasting at a very high volume. In all honestly, however, these results reveal such a negligible difference it could just as easily be subjective hearing. If nothing else, the two Blu-ray versions of 'Casino Royale' will provide nothing but more fodder for the ongoing PCM vs. TrueHD debate.

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff

The Bond films have been re-tooled, re-issued, re-packaged, re-mastered
and re-everything'd on video so many times now that it's been a punchline almost
as long as the line, "shaken, not stirred." So it went with 'Casino Royale' on Blu-ray, which Sony released in early 2007 in a decent but far from comprehensive package. So here we are, about a year-and-a-half later, and the studio has finally delivered a two-disc set worthy of the best Bond film in ages. This is one fine Collector's Edition, and the one they should have done the first time around. (Video is a mix 'n' match of 1080 and 480 sources, with subtitle options in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Chinese, and Portuguese. All materials are on Disc Two, except where noted.))

Audio Commentary - Hosting this commentary (on Disc One) are producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, as well as a cadre of crew members including composer David Arnold, production designer Peter Lamont, effects supervisor Chris Corbol, costume designer Lindy Hemming, director of photography Phil Mayhew. Frustratingly, most of these participants are not introduced, so I had no idea who was speaking or when. (I slowly figured it out based on what they were saying, but how about some subtitles next time, Sony?) This is a technical track, but I preferred it to the visual commentary in the exclusives (see below). Every scene is dissected in vivid detail, from the exact angle Daniel Craig needed to point his gun to Arnold discussing composing the title theme song, to the extensive search for new Bond girl Eva Green. Oddly, neither director Martin Campbell nor Craig are here, but this is still a great track.

New Featurettes (HD, 24 minutes) - New to this Blu-ray are five featurettes, though they are obviously one doc cut up into different parts. A host of principals (director Campbell, producers Wilson and Broccoli and Callum McDougall, co-screenwriters Paul Haggis and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Bond historian John Cork, authors John Pearson and Peter Biskind, and even early Bond girls Linda Christian Power, Diane Hartford, and Maureen O'Connell. Presented in 1080p/MPEG-2 HD, this is not quite the ultimate documentary on 'Casino Royale,' but certainly close to what we all wanted on the first 'Casino Royale' Blu-ray.

First up is "The Road to Casino Royale" (28 minutes), which goes all the way back to Ian Fleming's original story and chronicles the long, long journey it took to make it to the screen as Bond 21. There is some cool footage of early Bond misfires (including Barry Nelson as "Jimmy Bond"), lots of rare stills and archival materials, and a big detour into the famous Kevin McClory 'Thunderball' controversy. A very thorough dossier.

"Ian Fleming's Incredible Creation" (21 minutes) goes in-depth into the 'Casino Royale' story itself, and dissects the modern day adaptation. Dubbed the "holy grail" of Bond novels by Broccoli, the challenge for the filmmakers was retaining the basic structure of a novel that revolves around a poker game, while also updating it for modern times, and somehow facilitating a satisfactory reboot for the entire franchise. Fleming's background and literary influences for Bond are also discussed at length.

Next is "Bond in the Bahamas" (24 minutes), which tackles the location where a good portion of 'Casino Royale' takes place. Though this comes off a bit too much like a Bahamas advert at times (and it's odd this location gets so much attention while many of the others in the film are left unexplored), this is where the grit of the production detail is covered. Also fun here is a look back at the other Bond films that exploited the Bahamas, including 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' 'For Your Eyes Only' and 'Thunderball,' and how they link to 'Casino Royale.'

"Ian Fleming: The Secret Road to Paradise" (24 minutes) is the only feature that feels like a bit of padding. Once again, the Fleming/Bahamas connection is discussed ad nauseam. A host of additional socialites and other well-to-do types are interviewed, who give us context of the social scene that Fleming found himself surround by when the first conceived and wrote the early Bond novels. Unfortunately, most of this material could have been combined with "Bond in the Bahamas" to much better effect.

Finally, "Death in Venice" (23 minutes), which is the only featurette that really features any interviews with Daniel Craig and Eva Green (both culled from on-set material). The film's final sequence featuring the sinking Palazzo is documented, though for me it might be one of the weakest aspects of 'Casino Royale.' A great deal of exposition and plot development culminates in the scene, which was -- judging by the extensive production footage here -- a logistical nightmare.

My only gripe for these featurettes? I hoped for at least some perspective on the eventual success of 'Casino Royale' since it's release two years ago, but none of that is covered here. In fact, 'Casino Royale's newfound place in the Bond canon as a classic isn't really discussed at all. Oh, well -- I guess Sony is saving that for the Blu-ray triple-dip?

Featurette: "Becoming Bond" (SD, 24 minutes) - "Becoming Bond" was on the original DVD, and remains a decent cut above your average making-of. Though the narration has that cheesy, breathless EPK tone to it, the wealth of video diary footage, and a new interview with a very scruffy Craig, elevates it high above the mundane. Among the highlights are surprisingly frank interviews with Bond overseers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, director Martin Campbell, screenwriters Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, and co-star Eva Green (complete with distracting bulging neckline). No one denies that casting Craig was a gamble, as was going back to basics and abandoning the much-criticized but highly-profitable Pierce Brosnan era. I also liked the footage of Craig's nervous first day on the set, and the host of still photographs of the late Ian Fleming which I've never seen before. No, this is not a huge, sprawling documentary, but it is far better than you might expect.

Featurette: "James Bond for Real" (SD, 24 minutes) - Also carried over from the previous DVD, this is a nice ode to the film's considerable stunt work. The same participants again show up, and all the material is culled from the same footage used for "Becoming Bond." I find myself simultaneously enthralled and bored with these kind of features. The stunts in 'Casino Royale' are fantastic -- this is all on-set, real-time craziness that blew me out of my theater seat -- but this doc is a bit too technical for my taste. Regardless, action fans will love this one.

Deleted Scenes (HD, 8 minutes) - There are four scenes new to the 'Collector's Edition,' all in 1080p/MPEG-2 video: "Rescue and Recovery," "Squandering Government Funds," "Cricket Pavilion" and "Gettler Raisers Bond's Suspicions." None of these scenes are tremendous, but there is a nice moment between Bond and Vesper and a decent joke in he "Government Funds" clip. The quality of the scenes is good, if close (but not quite) up to the main feature.

Music Video (SD) - Rounding out the extras is a music video for Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name." I like the tune, and the video is fun. Is it a Bond theme classic? Maybe not. But at least it's better than a-Ha's "The Living Daylights."

Theatrical Trailers (HD) - Finally, we get trailers (on Disc One) for '21,' 'Hancock' and 'Vantage Point.' Inexplicably, there are no trailers for 'Casino Royale,' nor the upcoming 'Quantum of Solace.' Dammit.

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

Throwing quite a big bone to us Blu-ray'ers, Sony has produced a couple of nifty exclusives for this 'Casino Royale' double-dip.

Picture-in-Picture - Bond finally gets his first Blu-ray PIP track, here dubbed a "Visual Commentary." Less a digest version of the documentary features, this is essentially a sit-down filmed chat with director Martin Campbell and producer Michael G. Wilson. The plusses are that as this set has no proper audio commentary with Campbell this makes the perfect replacement, though there is considerable overlap in terms of information here and that imparted in all the documentaries and featurettes. Such redundancy is probably unavoidable, but would have been helped had there been any integration of making-of and/or supporting interview footage. That makes this PIP a bit on the dry side. (Note that this PIP track is Bonus View-enabled, so you must have a Profile 1.1-capable player to access it.)

"Know Your Double -O:The Ultimate James Bond Trivia Quiz" - This is a single- or two-player quiz that asks up to 20 random questions quiz on the entire Bond series, from 'Dr. No' to 'Casino Royale.' I'm a Bond fan, but by no means an expert, and I answered about 70 percent of the questions correct. I suspect that like most trivia games, it's really the more casual fan who will enjoy it the most.

BD-Live - Finally, Sony has enabled 'Casino Royale' with BD-Live functionality. At presstime, only a basic Sony online destination page is running, with trailers for other Sony titles, plus a link to online James Bond sites.

Final Thoughts

James Bond is back. Daniel Craig has truly defied the punters and emerged as -- yes, wait for it -- the best Bond since Sean Connery. 'Casino Royale' is a wonderful reboot for the venerable franchise, and only makes me hold my breath for the next adventure with Craig, November's 'Quantum of Solace.' This Blu-ray double-dip is the disc we should have got the first time around -- the video and audio are the same (which ain't a bad thing), and the two discs of extras and exclusives are very strong. However, if you don't care about supplements you can probably pass on this re-issue as it doesn't really improve the tech specs, but certainly, if you don't already own 'Casino Royale' on Blu-ray, now is the time to pick it up.

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